Good Work
by muzical
Summary: There were five times that Cpt. Bridger told Lucas "Good Work," and one time he didn't.
1. Hey kid, good work

**AN: I was rewatching the pilot last night and this popped into my head. I don't own _SeaQuest _or anything familiar seen in this story. If I did, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction.**

**There will be six chapters total. Please leave a review on your way out and let me know what you think. I'll be certain to return the favor. Enjoy!**

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"**Hey kid, good work"**

Lucas stared at the screen, his fingers flying over the keys as he typed. The keyboard was like an extension of his arm and he barely needed to look down at the keys. He searched through the main frame, running diagnostic and virus scans, trying to locate the problem. Weapons and propulsion were down, and _SeaQuest_ was a sitting duck in the water.

Dr. Westphalen asked him to figure out what was going wrong. Him, out of everyone on board, military or science. Sure, his master's degree looked nice on the wall, but most adults still brushed him aside, looking at his age rather than his skills. He would be lying if he said he wasn't surprised that they asked him to complete the task.

"It's dying," he said when Dr. Westphalen and Captain Bridger entered his room. He looked back at the screen, seeing things that no one else on board _SeaQuest_ would recognize.

"What's dying?" The two adults took seats in his room as he typed away at the keyboard.

"The core of the main frame has a virus. It's what's been eating away at our systems."

"But if it's in the core, why isn't it affecting the whole ship?"

"Oh, it will. It just started with weapons and propulsion."

The doctor seemed to be asking all the questions, and Captain Bridger simply nodded, cradling his chin in his hand, deep in thought. "Wouldn't diagnostics have found it in a routine check?" She asked, looking from Lucas to the computer screen and back again.

Captain Bridger shook his head. "No, artificial intelligence just makes a quick pass. Unless you've fixed that, too?" The captain gave him a quick look.

"Well, as a matter of fact, I have some parts on order," he replied sarcastically. He didn't need to be treated like a child.

"I still don't see how it could be missed," Dr. Westphalen said, her eyes moving to the flashing lights on the computer screen.

It was a very impressive virus, buried deep in the mainframe, so deep that the routine checks would never find it. Only when things started shutting down would _SeaQuest_ have even known something was wrong. "Well this sucker is buried so deep that the diagnostics sweep couldn't find it. It's pretty cool, I mean, whoever planted this thing really knew what they were doing."

"Then it's not organic?"

"No way. It's too specific."

"Is there anyway to tell how long it's been in there?"

"Not until I pull back the layers of data between me and him." Lucas looks over in alarm as the screen began flashing and barking. "Woah," he said, keying in a few sequences. "It's got dogs."

Dr. Westphalen and Captain Bridger glanced at each other, confusion showing across both their faces. "Dogs?"

"Watch dogs. Subprograms to protect the virus. If I mess with any of them, the entire ship could crash and burn. Life support, navigation, defense, the whole works." He turned back to the screen, his fingers typing away at the keys.

"Captain to the bridge," Lt. O'Neill says over the loud speaker and Lucas looks up. "I think that's you," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Just keep doing what you're doing," Captain Bridger said before standing and heading for the door. "Hey kid, good work."

Lucas smiled, a self satisfied smirk on his face. "Don't get cocky," Dr. Westphalen said, rising to follow Bridger out of the room.

It was the first time in weeks anyone told him good work. He had gotten to the point where he was used to being looked over for his accomplishments. He had nearly forgotten how nice it felt to be complimented. It was like a warm feeling, running through your body and bringing a smile to your face.

He stuck his pencil between his teeth and sat up straight, his fingers flying over the keys once more. This might not be such a bad place to be after all.


	2. Oh, nice work

**AN: This takes place during the 1st season episode _Give me Liberté_. **

**Thank you so much for all the reviews on the last chapter, and I hope this one is up to par. As usual, I don't own _SeaQuest_ or anything familiar.**

"**Oh, nice work."**

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Lucas keyed in bypass codes, searching through zones and in files. Nothing. There was no record of this Dr. Peche anywhere. He cross-referenced the date found with all known whereabouts before the Liberté Space Station. Nothing. He uncovered file after file of blank documents. Everything was wiped clean. He tried a back way into the system, going through the intelligence department, searching through tax forms. Still, there was nothing.

But then… there it was. He blinked, double checking his findings. Buried deep within pages of code and data, he found the old doc's address. He let out a small whoop of happiness, groping at the desk for a pen and a piece of paper. _Dr. Guy Peche, 131 Rue Dijon, Montbard, France._

He jumped up quickly, tripping over his desk chair and nearly falling flat on his face. Pushing himself to his feet, he made a mental note to clean up the floor. Even he was a bit disgusted at how messy the room was. Clothes were strewn on the chair and bed, papers, video disks and music disks scatted on the floor. He gave it one last glance before shutting the door behind him, sighing. What a mess.

Power walking through the corridors, Lucas made his way down to the Captain's quarters. He had to catch him before he left for the shuttle. "Oh Captain, Doc Peche's address," he said, quickly turning the corner. Bridger shut the door to his quarters and looked up. "It was buried in their autonomous zone."

"Thanks." Bridger took the paper, turning and walking towards the bridge, Lucas following close behind.

This was the embarrassing part. Normally he found ways to bypass the tracers. Someone was very curious as to why he was researching Dr. Peche. Lucas just hoped Captain Bridger wouldn't be too upset that North Sea Confederation knew where they were. "Oh and they uh… tagged my computer search."

"Who tagged you?"

"Someone at the North Sea Confederation I guess. A tracer dogged my link all the way back home."

"Dogged your link?" Bridger stopped in the corridor and turned, both his look and tone of voice blatantly confused.

Lucas shrugged, quickly thinking of an easy way to define 'dogging.' That wasn't a new term; the Captain had to be familiar with it. Maybe not in the context but… "They know where we are," he said simply.

"But do they know what we have?"

"I doubt it. They're probably gonna find out sooner or later."

"Well I hope it's later." Captain Bridger shrugged, patting Lucas' arm before walking down the corridor.

Lucas looked down at the ground, a mix of emotions running through his body. He was upset and happy all at the same time. He did it; he found the address after nearly two hours of searching, of trying bypass code after bypass code, password after password.

Why was he upset? Was it because Captain Bridger didn't tell him what a good job he did? Did he really need the compliments now? The reminders that he was doing a good job? "Oh," Bridger said and Lucas looked up hopefully. "Nice work."

There it was, the reminder, the boost to his self esteem. He smiled, nodding slightly at the Captain's retreating form before turning and walking back to his room.


End file.
